Escape from Prison Hill (Ormsby County, Nevada)

Having spent all of last weekend traveling, I wanted to stay closer to home this weekend, but I also wanted to get some trail miles in. To be able to do both, I decided to knock Prison Hill off of my checklist. Prison Hill overlooks Carson City to the west and the Carson River Valley to the east and south. It was so named because stone was quarried from one of its outcroppings to build the state prison just below the hill. The trail I'm planning to hike today is called Escape from Prison Hill.

Arriving at Carson River Park just after 9:00 AM, I use the map I saved to my phone to try and get my bearings, but the trails scarce resemble the map. Intertwined with the foot trails along the river, some cattle trails from the nearby Silver State Ranch cover the landscape. It's difficult to know which is which, but I start following the trail closest to the river looking for the Old Mexican Dam shown on the map. In the 1860's, a ditch was cut to divert water from the river for irrigation. 

After a little over a mile, I come across a dilapidated wooden gate in the water-filled ditch with a retractable floodgate. I question whether or not this is the "dam", but the distance seems off from the map and so I decide to continue a bit further. After another mile, I come to what I was looking for - a large spillway that spans the width of the small Carson River and a grated bridge over the water diverted into the ditch. I continue around the large pool collected behind the spillway and eventually reach the turn in the trail I was looking for.

The trail diverts from the river and begins a steep climb up the southern face of Prison Hill. It's double-track here, but lacks any switchbacks. A number of dirt bike trails have been cut into the desert landscape, making navigation somewhat confusing. In addition, the the lack of switchbacks up this steep incline makes for slow going. In fact, I would venture to say this is one of the steepest hills I have climbed on foot (and with all of my adventures, that is saying something).

As I reach a large junction, I try to determine the correct path, but there is no signage and again the map is of limited use. As I later discover, I should have gone the opposite way in order to get the full mileage of intended trail. Regardless, I eventually find a connector trail that returns me to the main trail, but it saved me three or so miles, which was not my intention. Given the workout I got from climbing up here, I'm not entirely disappointed.

Reaching the highest point on the trail, I can see Carson City below me and in the distance I hear the "choo-choo" sound of the Carson-Virginia City Rail, apparently giving one of its frequent nostalgic tours. 

From here, I continue a bit further and then decide to drop back down into the canyon known as Dead Truck Canyon. The trail is pretty well maintained and as I reach the approximate midpoint, I discover how the canyon was named. An old truck is half buried in the wash of the canyon. It appears to have been for fifty years or more and the rains have washed soil, boulders, and brush over the bed and partially into the cab of the truck. Getting such a vehicle up here is must have been quite a feet, as the canyon and all the hillsides leading to it are very steep. I suspect my jeep could have made it, but not easily. This truck was far from an off road vehicle in it's heyday. Regardless, it apparently died here and thus gave the canyon its name.

As I move further down the canyon on my way back towards the park where I left my jeep, the trail diverts to the sough from the wash, and later I see why. The wash gets much, much steeper. The truck wouldn't have had a prayer of making out this way.

Eventually, I reach the ranch and cross an actively grazed field. The cows on either side of the trail glance at me curiously, but are content to relax in the warm December sun. Arriving back at the jeep, I check my distance. I only covered about 6.8 miles, which is far short of the 12.7, I had intended to cover. Nonetheless, the steep hills made for a great workout.